Woodland birds in Britain have undergone significant long term declines since the late 1960s, associated in particular with changes in woodland structure in general, and loss of early successional vegetation. Irregular, continuous canopy broadleaf management is a form of selective logging, very recently adopted in UK that produces woodlands with open canopies and substantial mid- and understorey growth. We examined spring and late winter bird densities, estimated using distance sampling, at 310 points in irregular, transitional (that being managed towards irregular), limited intervention, and coppice stands within a large working broad-leaf woodland in lowland southern Britain. Almost all understorey and canopy vegetation measures differed significantly across stand types. Ten of 20 species had highest spring abundance in irregular woodland, five in coppice, three in transitional, and just two in limited intervention. In winter, 5–6 species preferred each of limited intervention, irregular and transitional, while no species preferred coppice. Densities differed little across seasons except in Paridae where abundances increased in late winter during which limited intervention stands were used more by this group. Birds generally occupied similar niche positions and had similar niche breadths across seasons. Compared to under-managed woodlands, irregular silviculture in UK’s broadleaf woodlands is likely to enhance habitat quality for woodland birds, including several species of conservation concern e.g. marsh tit Poecile palustris which was twice as abundant in irregular stands as in any other stand type.

Information on the status of biodiversity is crucial for species conservation and management. Large scale assessments are only feasible through citizen science but some taxa are poorly monitored because few people specialise in them. This paper explores how to alleviate this problem by using data collected for poorly monitored species as an add-on to existing bird surveys. Volunteer schemes enable the large-scale surveillance and monitoring of wildlife populations across the UK, but such schemes are more effective for some species groups (e.g. birds) than others. This is partly a result of where volunteer interests are focussed and partly a consequence of the ease with which different species may be encountered and identified in the field. The UK’s mammals present particular challenges for monitoring; they are ecologically diverse and vary in both size and activity, leading to substantial differences in detectability. Consequently, there is no single survey technique that is adequate for all (or even most) species. Some of the UK’s mammals are known to cause problems for other species, or to cause economic damage, while others are of conservation concern, making robust assessment of their populations a priority. One way to increase our understanding of UK mammal populations is to tap into an existing monitoring framework, aimed at different taxa but through which this additional information may be collected with little additional cost or effort. One of the few examples of this approach is the collection of data on the relative abundance of mammals by participants in the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Starting in 1994, BBS was designed to monitor widespread breeding birds but the survey was extended to include mammals (as an optional component) in 1995. The stratified random approach used by the survey enables the collection of robust mammal data from 90% of the almost 4,000 1-km squares covered annually. Mammal trends are estimated every year, delivering trend information for the UK as a whole, for the four individual countries and for nine regions within England. While information on the national and regional trends has already been published, this paper presents additional information on spatial variation in the relative abundance of mammals, importantly exploring how this has changed over time. The BBS mammal data are very valuable and can, for example, be used to identify the reasons behind the trends being document in mammal populations. The analyses presented by Dario Massimino, Sarah Harris and Simon Gillings reveal the patterns of change for nine UK mammal species. They also reveal those parts of the UK where each of the nine species is most abundant. Although widespread, Rabbit shows statistically significant declines across Scotland and most of England. Brown Hare also shows significant declines across large areas, with these particularly evident in the south-east of England, Wales, north-west England and south-west Scotland. Worryingly, the Mountain Hare population has undergone large declines in abundance within a significant part of its core Scottish range. Another mammal suffering from large scale declines is the Red Fox, with populations in central-southern England and eastern Wales declining by between 20% and 50% over the study period. Three of the four deer species studied showed increasing abundance across a significant part of their UK ranges, and only Red Deer appears stable. Grey Squirrel populations have remained largely stable except at their expanding northern limit. The results of this work demonstrate how robust models of relative abundance and change can be secured for secondary taxa within an existing and structured monitoring approach. There are, as the authors discuss, strengths and limitations to adding secondary taxa to an existing survey in this way, but, as this paper demonstrates, the ability to monitor the changing status of these nine mammal species provides much-needed information.

Citizen science is increasingly recognised as one of the most cost-effective means of achieving large-scale and long-term biodiversity monitoring. We’re quite familiar with this concept for birds and butterflies, but what about for habitat? Historically, changes in habitat or land cover in the UK have been recorded through two main approaches: professional field data collection and remote sensing using satellites. Both have major limitations: field surveys are costly and can only cover small areas, whereas remote sensing can cover the whole country but with less detail and greater uncertainties. BTO scientists were keen to see if habitat data collected by volunteers for the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) could contribute to understanding how habitats have changed. Over 2,500 BBS volunteers have recorded the habitats along their survey transects since 1994, from city centres to mountain tops. These data were used to quantify change over time in the reporting of different habitats in the British countryside. Increases in woodland cover were detected, in particular, mixed woodland, and declines in farmland cover, particularly livestock farming were also found. Whilst the estimate of habitat area matched existing data well, estimates of habitat change did not. These results are encouraging considering that habitat recording on BBS was not designed for the purpose of habitat monitoring. This work shows that volunteers can play a significant role in monitoring of habitats provided clear protocols are followed that have been designed with habitat monitoring in mind.